The truth about coconut oil

Indian experts weigh in on the controversy surrounding coconut oil. In other news, married women account for the highest proportion of suicide deaths in India.

by RD Editors November 05, 2018 Updated 14:37 IST

2018-10-29T17:11:51+05:30

2018-10-29T17:11:51+05:30

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The truth about coconut oil

At a lecture in Germany, Karin Michels, an epidemologist from the Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, called coconut oil “pure poison”. According to Michels, the high proportion of saturated fat in coconut oil (about 30 per cent more than in butter) makes it “one of the worst things you can eat”. Indian experts, however, consider the claim to be baseless. Nutritionist Ishi Khosla says, “There is ample research to prove that coconut oil is highly beneficial for overall health.” Dr Dharini Krishnan, a senior consultant dietician, says that there are no known harmful effects of the oil but it is obviously high-calorie and needs to be consumed within the prescribed daily fat requirements of an individual. We recommend you seek your doctor’s advice, especially if you have high cholesterol.

Married Indian women most suicidal

According to a study published in The Lancet Public Health, suicide was the leading cause of death in India, in 2016, for those aged between 15 and 39 years. Globally, India’s contribution to suicide deaths jumped from 25.3 per cent in 1990 to 36.6 per cent in 2016 among women, and from 18.7 per cent to 24.3 per cent among men. Experts noted that suicide deaths ranked first among all causes of death in women between 15 and 29 years in 26 of India’s 31 states. “Married women account for the highest proportion of suicide deaths among women in India. Marriage is known to be less protective against suicide for women because of arranged and early marriage, young motherhood, low social status, domestic violence and economic dependence,” according to the study.